Philip flipped one hand, and a longsword appeared in it.
A resounding sword cry rang across heaven and earth.
"Whoosh!"
Unlike the probing sword aura he had unleashed before, this one was only a few meters long, but the killing intent it contained far surpassed the previous one.
In the blink of an eye, the pitch-black sword aura struck at Graham.
"Rumble~~~" A terrifying roar rang out across heaven and earth. Then the elements began to run wild, surging into a massive elemental tide.
A figure clad in blue burst out of the tide, revealing Graham in a sorry state.
"Philip!!!" A furious roar rang out in the sky.
"Philip, if I weren't concerned about the current tense situation and afraid to act recklessly, would you really think I couldn't beat you?" Graham said coldly, his face full of anger.
Philip stared at Graham coldly, his voice icy. "If you want to fight, then fight. What's with all the blather?"
"Fine, fine, fine..." Graham laughed in fury!
"Buzz~~"
Blue Wind Element Dou Qi swirled around him, and Graham's white beard fluttered despite the lack of wind.
"Today, I'll see just how strong you are, Dark Pope!"
Philip watched impassively. Seeing that Graham seemed ready to get serious, he was secretly delighted.
In an unremarkable courtyard in Xili City, several shadowy figures watched the battle in the sky.
The leader of the Church of Darkness's Ascetics, a short, bald old man, spoke in a hoarse voice:
"If we can keep Graham here, then afterward... the number of Saint Domains willing to join us will increase severalfold."
The Church of Darkness's Chief Inquisitor, a tall, middle-aged man with brown hair and black robes, wiped the longsword in his hand. "The signal's already been sent. The Four-Winged Angels lying in wait outside have blocked off the surrounding area. We can get ready to surround and kill him!"
...In the sky, Graham's aura climbed to its peak.
Whoosh!!
A terrifying blue, formless sword blade, carrying an incomparably keen edge, pierced through space and shot toward Philip at incredible speed!
"Good!"
Philip's eyes lit up, and he charged forward without hesitation. I'll deliberately leave an opening and let that old geezer wound me. When he pursues me relentlessly, that'll be the end of him.
As the thought crossed his mind, Philip glanced at Xili City and held back much of his strength.
"Boom!!"
Their attacks collided. Philip had deliberately feigned weakness, yet his longsword easily blocked Graham's attack.
Something's wrong... Philip sensed that Graham's attack seemed far too weak.
When Philip looked up again, Graham's figure had already appeared at the distant edge of the sky.
"Philip, I just remembered something came up at home. We'll spar another day, when you come to the imperial capital!" Graham shouted as he fled.
"!!!"
Seeing this, Philip immediately realized that Graham had figured out Xili City was a trap. He had deliberately built up his aura earlier just to lower Philip's guard and keep him from stopping him right away.
"After him!!"
Philip roared and charged off at the front.
Inside Xili City, more than a dozen dark figures flickered away one after another, pursuing Graham.
Graham had already fled a long way. Noticing the commotion behind him, he grew solemn and kept the Wind Element spell Wind of Perception active at all times.
He dodged the Four-Winged Angels blocking his way as he ran toward the imperial capital of the Tianluo Empire.
"The Church of Darkness has gone mad! They actually dared to come after me directly. Aren't they afraid of fighting the empire to the death?" Graham's heart sank.
He hadn't expected the Church of Darkness to be so brazen. If he weren't a Wind Element Saint Domain powerhouse, with senses far keener than those of ordinary Saint Domain powerhouses, he might not have noticed anything suspicious about Xili City. By now, he could already have been dead, his soul returned to the Underworld.
...Ultimately, thanks to the speed of a Wind Element Saint Domain powerhouse, Graham escaped the Church of Darkness's clutches.
Far away in Mobius Province, however, another Saint Domain powerhouse sent by the Zhongyuan Empire to investigate the Church of Light wasn't so lucky. The Church of Light killed him on the spot.
With the two great churches deliberately spreading the news, it soon swept across the Azeron Continent. Every Saint Domain faction received word of it.
In an instant, countless forces across the land sprang into action, and undercurrents surged among the Saint Domain powerhouses.
"The two great churches have killed an empire's Saint Domain powerhouse. Things have gotten completely out of hand. If we keep standing by and watching, then before the decisive battle, neither the churches nor the three great empires will hesitate to wipe us out first!" said a Saint Domain powerhouse from a powerful family, his face grave.
"There's no place for us in the Material Plane anymore. I plan to go to the Supreme God Realm," said a Saint Domain Ascetic.
"The God Realm? That sounds like a fine destination. I heard from the Plane Guardian that everyone there is talented and pleasant to talk to, and the cultivation environment is excellent. Countless Saint Domain powerhouses head there every day!" said a Saint Domain powerhouse with longing.
At those words, quite a few Saint Domain powerhouses were tempted.
Among the crowd, a white-robed Saint Domain powerhouse in plain clothes looked strangely at the speaker.
The white-robed Saint Domain powerhouse had come from the Church of Light and was moving among the crowd under a false identity. Compared with these unaffiliated Saint Domain powerhouses, he knew far more about the Supreme God Realm.
Where'd this idiot come from? the white-robed old man thought. The Plane Guardian really does have a twisted sense of humor. Over the years... from what I've heard, he's tricked at least ten Saint Domain powerhouses into going to the Supreme God Realm.
Though he thought that, the white-robed old man said aloud:
"The God Realm really is a fine destination."
"Good! Then let's head to the God Realm together and make our mark!" a Saint Domain powerhouse shouted.
"Who said I'm going with you? I don't want to end up as a Soul Gold Bead..." The white-robed old man smiled brightly on the outside, while cursing furiously inside.
Starfire Kingdom, Dragon Knight Warrior Academy.
Inside an elegant pavilion, Yao Lao read the news that had come from the imperial capital. His expression was dreadful.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
"Sword Saint of Heavy Mountain Borsen is dead. He was killed by the Church of Light a day ago." Yao Lao's expression was grave. "And that's not all. I hear the Church of Darkness has made a move recently, surrounding Sword Saint of Breeze Graham. He managed to escape, though."
Xiao Yan furrowed his brows. Sword Saint of Heavy Mountain Borsen was a veteran Saint Domain powerhouse of the Zhongyuan Empire, famous for four hundred years.
He had comprehended a trace of the Earth Pulse Profound Mystery and was exceptionally powerful, no weaker than Rock Sword Saint Hederson, who had been mentioned in the original work. He held a high position in the Zhongyuan Empire.
"Now that the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness are growing more and more reckless, Starfire City isn't safe anymore. How about... we run?" Yao Lao said worriedly.
"It's fine, Teacher. Right now, the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness are still focused mainly on the two great empires. They can't spare the manpower to cross the Zhongyuan Empire and come all the way to Starfire City to attack us."
"Besides... it's not as if I can't fight back!"
Before you continue